Earlier this year, a book claimed that Apple would make new employees work on fake projects until they could be trusted to remain loyal.

The book says the new employees are "hired into so-called dummy positions, roles that aren't explained in detail until after they join the company." Others chimed in, claiming friends had worked on fake projects for months before being added to real projects.

Ars dug a little deeper recently, and found that while Apple may be well known for being secretive, they don't waste resources on loyalty tests.

Says one former Apple engineer: "Apple always seemed to be a no-bullshit kind of place when it comes to the seriousness of your work and what you get done. I find it suspect that they'd ever waste their own and the employee's time on something that didn't directly contribute to their bottom line somehow."

Said a current engineer: "I don't really see the need for that kind of stuff because everything is NDAed [governed by a nondisclosure agreement] out the ass. You can be hired for a position where they don't tell you what you're working on beforehand, sure, but if they're choosing to hire you with your skill set, you might be able to hazard a guess on what it's about. It's a lot easier to have someone sign an NDA and then fire them if they violate it."

There are plenty more quotes at the source, but it appears that this is one rumor that can be put to rest.